Applicator roll and clamping means therefor



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A. E. @GREN PPLICATOR ROLL AND CLAMPING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Jam. 2, 1955 l {i} 1y ATTORNEY @gwen INVENTOR XQZ E.,

nted States Patent O yAPPLICATOR ROLL AND CLAMPING NIEANS THEREFOR Axel E. ogren, chicago, nl., assigner to The Sherwin vlliliams Company, Cleveland, Ohio, la corporation of Application January 2, 1953, `Serial No. 329,233 s chime. (c1. 1s-'1sz:s)

This invention relates as indicated to an improved coating device. More specifically, lthis invention relates to a multi-roll coating device capable of coating or printing continuous surfaces or applying designs on surfaces.

Previous coating devices usually comprised a'handle, a connecting shank and one coating roll. Further development of these simple coating devices resulted in paint coating rolls made of material not aiected Aby oil ,pai-nts and rolls having a patterned surface. Now there has 'been developed a coating roll serving also as a paint reservoir. More recent developments in the paint roller 'field incorporate two rolls; an applicator roll and a design roll in contact with said applicator roll. In this manner, the paint, or like coating material, is supplied by th applicator roll to a second design roll, thus assuring even distribution of paint from the design roll to the surface to be coated. These two-roll coating devices usually'comprise a two-piece clamp serving to convert 'the standard one-roll coater into a two-rollcoa'ter, byholtling a'se'cond roll and shank on the original paint roller- The clamping means employed are not entirely satisfactory, in that ready adjustment of the two rolls with respect 'to one another -is not available. In order to place paint upon the applicator roll, it is necessary when using the old devices, 'to separate the design roll from 'the device by Aloosening aser'ies of wing-nuts, applying paint to fthe applicator roll, and then replacing the design roll back into contact with [the applicator roll, and then re-tightening the wing-'nuts to hold the rolls in position. The arrangement .of the previous securing devices has necessitated re-tightening and re-positioning of the rolls each time the lpaint supply became exhausted and when the applicator roll :became worn.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide Va paint roller of the lplural roll type in which the coating roll, i. e., the roll which applies the paint vfilm to the .surface being decorated, maybe easily moved out of contact with the applicator roll to permit re-,supplying thereof without unevenly or extensively loading 'the coating roll, and then easily re-set to substantially the original contact pressure with the applicator roll.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simplied means of attaching a secondary roll or coating roll to the simple paint rollers available to the trade.

Another object is toprovide an improved design applicalor.

Still another object is to provide a design applying paint roller device in which the average iilm thickness of Ithe design imprint may be maintained substantially uniform from the original loading of the paint supply roll (herein called the applicator roll) through a succession of loadings.

Another object is -to provide a means -of attaching `with minimum modilication two paint rollers of the ltype most generally available whereby the resultant :device may be used to apply coatings or designs of substantially uniform lm thickness following asneeession of re-loadings.

Still another object is to provide a two-.roll design apply- 2 ing or coating applying paint Vroll having -the rolls so vpositioned relative to each other that in coating kapplying operation "it is virtually in ipossble for the applicator roll to come in contact with `the surface being decorated.

Other objects of this invention appear as the descrip- 'tion proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the `foregoing land related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly ,pointed out in the appended claims, the following description and annexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments ofthe invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but a few of the various forms in which the principle or this invention may be employed.

Broadly stated, then, this invention comprises a coating device comprising an applicator roll, a handle, Vand `a connecting shank structure; a coating rol-l .pcripherally communicating with said applicator roll and laterally olfset therefrom having -a separate shank structure; and clamping means forpivotably holding said shank .structures in laterally lixed relationship while permitting movementabout a single axis parallel to the axes of rotation of said rolls.

More speciically stated, this invention vcomprises a coating device comprising an applicator roll, Aa handle, and a connecting shank structure; a coating roll peripherally communicating with said applicator roll 'and laterally offset therefrom Vhaving a separate shank structure; vand clamping means Yfor pivotably holding said shank structures .in .laterally lixed relationship while permitting movement about a ksirugleraxis parallelto the .axes of `rotation of said rolls, wherein the clamping means comprises a `body hav-ing a formed flower .portion adapted to engage rigidly the shank structure of said applicator roll, a .slot formed in the upper and rearward portion of said body adapted vto permit vertical movement therein of the rearward portion of the shank structure -of said coating roll, and means lassociated with said body for engaging and holding the -otset portion .of the shank lying laterally of said coa-ting lroll in laterally vfixed relationship to said shank structure of said applicator roll while permitting movement about its axis.

In the .annexed drawings:

Fig. .l is aside elevation view of a preferred embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. i1.

Fig. 3 is a kside view showing the clamping means as viewed from the line 3 3 of liig` l.

Fig. 4 lis a cross-sectional view of the clamp-ing means taken ou the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the clamping rmeans taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. l. i

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the clamping means taken on line 6 6 of Fig. l.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6.

For the ,purposes of this description, the roll which applies the design or coating Yto the surface being decorated will be referred to as the coating roll. The roll which supplies the paint to the coating roll will be referred yto as the applicator roll in that its function is to apply -a uniformly distributed layer lof paint to the coating roll prior to transfer to the surface being decorated.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is provided an applica- Vtor roll 30 yprovided with means for manually handling the same, comprising a handle 3l connected to a rearwardly extending portion 31a of a shank structure by any suitable means, lsaid portion being bent at right angles at a `point somewhat removed from the handle 3i as shown at 32, and projecting laterally as shown at 33 to a-point beyond the end of the tuliplicator `roll 30 where it again 'bent at substantially right angles for a distance toptovide an offset portion 34 of such a length as to provide clearance between the applicator roll 381 and the lateral shank portion 33. The end of the offset portion 34 terminates in an elongated inwardly projecting: pin 35, the axis of which is substantially parallel to the horizontal shank portion 33 of the handle structure. The pin 35 forms an axle about which the applicator roll 3d rotates, said roll to form an offset portion 3S which is preferably of somewhat longer length than the corresponding otiset portion 34 of the lower roll. The lower end of said offset portion 38 is inwardly bent at right angles forming a laterally extending portion 39, and at the point 40 is bent downwardly again at right angles to form the rearwardly extending portion 41. As shown in Fig. l, the rearwardly extending portion 41 is also bent upward and extends rearwardly from the point 40, and the offset portion 38 is likewise bent upwardly and forwardly from the pro jection of point 40. The coating roll shank structure is thus composed of parts 37, 38, 39 and 41.

The dilerence between the lengths of the offset portions 34 and 38 respectively, should be less than the sum of the radii of the two rolls. ln this way the rolls will never be positioned one ahead of the other with their axes in the same horizontal plane. Instead, the rolls will generally be one upward and forward of the other, or in a laterally otset position. However, the rolls may be one directly above the other, i. e., the axes in the same vertical plane. which are much easier to use against a vertical surface than is normally available where the rolls have their axes on the same horizontal plane.

The free end of the rearwardly extending portion 41 terminates in a liattened projection 42 being a con-I venient linger rest for operating the rearwardly extending lever arm 41 and rotating it through a limited are about the axis of the horizontally laterally extending portion 39.

The two paint roller devices thus far described are maintained in a substantially superimposed relationship by means of a clamp 43, and the respective rearwardly extending portions 41 and 31a being maintained spaced apart by means of a spring 44. It will be noted that by depressing the lever arm 41, the coating roll 36 is moved out of contact with the roll 30, as is shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1.

A preferred clamping means which may be employed in the practice of this invention comprises a body having an L shape adapted to conform to the angle bend or elbow 32 of the portions 31a and 33 of the applicator roll 30. A groove or slot 45 is provided in the lower portion of clamp 43 and is adapted to receive said portions 31a and 33. A fillet 46 is provided at the apex of the L shape of the clamp 43 and contains a set screw 47 for rigidly retaining the clamp 43 in position and also serves to maintain the portions 33 and 31a of the applicator roll 3G within the slot or groove 45 firmly at all times, as is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. The upper portion of the clamp body 43 has formed therein a slot or guideway 48 for containing a leaf spring 44 and the rearwardly extending portion 41 of the coating roll 36. Spring 44 is retained in the bottom portion of groove 48 in the clamp body 43 at 49 in any suitable manner, for example such as shown in Fig. 7, and extends upwardly and rearwardly to contact the rearwardly extending portion 41, thereby exerting an upward pressure on the rearwardly extending portion 41 for maintaining the rolls 36 and 30 in contact under positive pres- These positions produce devices.

sure. The clamp body 43 is also provided with a projection 50 for receiving a set screw 51 which opposes the action of spring 44, thereby affording a means of adjusting the contact pressure between the rolls 36 and 30. The forward portion 52 of the clamp body 43 engages the horizontally laterally extending portions 39 and 33 and holds them free of lateral movement. Lips 53 and 54 extend upwardly from the bottom portion of the clamp body 43 and are spaced apart, oppositely directed and shaped to grasp the laterally extending portion 39 of coating roll 36. The lips 53 and 54 in combination with the slot 48 prevent any movement of the rearwardly extending portion 41 in a lateral plane, but permit the laterally extended portion 39 to be rotated about its axis within an arc limited by the roll 30 in the clockwise direction and the rearwardly extending portion 31a in the counter-clockwise direction. The coating roll 36 may be constructed of a soft Vrubber or any other composition which is suitable for applying either a design or a film' to the surface being decorated.V For certain purposes, the coating roll 36 may have a relief surface such as shown in Fig. 2; however, the roll may for certainy other purposes have a plain surface. lt is desirable to construct the applicator roll 30 with a surface of comminuted felt or wool felt fibers, thereby providing a surface better suited for applying paint or other coating material to the coating roll. The applicator roll 30 may be of conventional solid construction whereby paint must be applied from an outside source to its surface, or the applicator roll 30 may be of the new fountain or foraminous type that contains its own paint supply and thus aiords a continuous supply of paint or other coating material to the coating roller 36.

In the practical operation of the devices of this invention, the operator presses down on the flattened portion 42 of the rearwardly extending portion'41, thereby raising coating roll 36 out of contact with applicator roll 30. Paint or other coating material may then be applied Vto the surface of applicator roll 30 in any conventional manner and then the rearwardly extending portion 41 is released whereby coating roll 36 is again forced into contact with the applicator roll 30 by the action of leaf spring 44. By adjusting the position of said screw 51, the operator may control the pressure between the two rolls. This adjustment permits greater uniformity of film thickness as applied to the surface being decorated since after the initial setting, the rolls return to the same relative position at substantially the same contact pressure. vWhen all of the paint or other coating material has been applied from applicator roll 30 to coating roll 36 and from the latter to the surface being decorated, it is only necessary to press down on rearwardly extending lever arm portion 41 in order to permit re-supplying applicator roll 30 with more material and then repeat the sequence of steps. When the coating roll 36 is out of the way, there is no possibility of saturating the coating roll 36 with an excess of paint which would yield a sloppy pattern.

It should be noted that it is not necessary for the coating roll to have the same dimensions as the applicator roll, i. e., diameter and length. However, for ease of manufacture, it is relatively simple to utilize two paint rollers, modifying the shank structure of one to tit the clamp means selected, and mounting the two rolls in the manner indicated.

Other modes of applying the principle of this invention may be employed instead of those specifically set forth above, changes being made as regards the details herein disclosed, provided the elements set forth in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such be employed.

It is,` therefore, particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed as the invention:

l. A coating device comprising an applicator roll, a handle,l and a connecting shank structure, said shank structure comprising a rearwardly extending portion and a laterally extending portion lying laterally of said applicator roll and substantially parallel to the axis thereof; a coating roll peripherally communicating with said applicator roll and laterally offset therefrom having a separate shank structure, said separate shank structure comprising a rearwardly extending portion and a laterally extending portion lying laterally of said coating roll and substantially parallel to the axis thereof; and clamping means for pivotably holding said shank structures in laterally xed relationship while permitting movement about a single axis parallel to the axes of rotation of said rolls, which clamping means comprises a body having a formed lower portion adapted to engage rigidly the lateral portion and the rearwardly extending portion of the shank structure of said applicator roll, a slot formed in an upper and rearward portion of said body adapted to permit vertical movement therein of the rearwardly extending portion of the shank structure of the coating roll, and means associated with said body for engaging and holding the laterally extending portion of the shank structure of said coating roll in laterally fixed relationship to the shank structure of said applicator roll while permitting movement about the axis of the laterally extending portion.

2. A device in accordance with claim l in which the movement of the shank structures about an axis parallel to the axes of rotation of said rolls is opposed by a spring member.

3. A device in accordance with claim 2 in which the action of the spring member is opposed by adjustable means integral with the body of said clamping means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 983,066 Kjeldaas Jan. 31, 1911 1,648,534 Breusch Nov. 8, 1927 2,616,367 Sprung Nov. 4, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 737,001 France Sept. 26, 1932 

